Team turmoil? Pittsburgh Pirates fans irate at Bob Nutting

By Curtis Pashelka, Bay Area News Group

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Pittsburgh Pirates fans have had just about enough of team owner Bob Nutting and his cost-cutting ways.

Two days after the Pirates finalized a trade that sent popular outfielder Andrew McCutchen to the Giants, thousands of signatures have been gathered on a petition on change.org asking Major League Baseball to force Nutting to sell the team.

Over the weekend, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole was dealt to the Houston Astros as part of a five-player swap. The two moves shed about $20 million off of the Pirates’ payroll.

Cole couldn’t resist taking a shot at the Pirates at his Astros introductory press conference, saying Wednesday, “Obviously, the (Astros) organization values me very high, and that always feels good as a player,” Cole said. “And it’s refreshing to come to an environment where the team is willing to continually put resources into the club and continue to move forward and try to provide the best possible product for its fans.”

Ouch.

Still, Pirates fans will get no sympathy from A’s fans, who have seen one star player after another sent out the door for financial reasons for the better part of 15 years.

The petition post, titled “For MLB to Force Bob Nutting to sell the Pittsburgh Pirates” reads, “Pittsburgh is a baseball town that is being destroyed by a greedy owner. There are so many loyal fans who truly care and support this team through thick and thin. We deserve better. I, like many others, endured so much pain watching a losing franchise from 1993 until 2013 when we saw playoff baseball return to Pittsburgh.

“You could see and hear the pain we kept inside all those years being released that October night. If you have had a chance to witness that glorious night, you know Pittsburgh is a baseball town. We’ve had enough! There needs to be change from the top of the organization down. Bob Nutting needs to sell this team, so that we can see a competitive baseball team year in and year out. It is obvious that he doesn’t want to spend the money to make that happen. We need an owner who has a competitive spirit and loves the game of baseball!”

As of early Wednesday afternoon, the petition has over 31,000 signatures, just shy of its goal of 35,000.

According to spotrac.com, the Pirates’ payroll sits at roughly $75 million, 24th highest among the 30 MLB teams. The Giants’ payroll stands at over $187 million, second-largest in MLB behind the Boston Red Sox ($191 million). The A’s payroll is at over $44 million, 29th in the big leagues.